Those Nights
by NarutoKyuu
Summary: Out of all the people he knew, he wouldn’t want to be stuck in something like this with anyone but Johnny.


**A/N: Whoooooooo…The Outsiders fanfic! No clue as to what has spurred this on, but earlier (way earlier) in the school year, we had to read The Outsiders and I absolutely adored the story to death. I actually started crying in the end. Then I heard this song once more and I thought it was perfect for Johnny. So. Here ya go. Finally getting around to writing it. xD If anyone's ever done this before, then please tell me and I'll remove mine. Don't want people thinking I copied after all.**  
**--NarutoKyuu**_**

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**Title: Those Nights**  
_**Summary: Just a songfic about Johnny and Ponyboy's relationship before he went and kicked the bucket. RIP Johnnycakes.**_  
_**Parings: Haha, none! That's certainly an accomplishment for me!**_  
_**Rating: K+**_  
_**Warnings: Haha, probably OOCness, I haven't read this book in **__**months**__**, dang it. (Had to return it to the school library very early on.) Skips around between past and present with no warning at all. Well. Whatever's in bold will be the "past" I guess.**_  
_**Disclaimer: Oh I wish I owned these guys. Brilliant job, S. E. Hinton! And this brilliant song. Owned by Skillet dang nabbit.**_

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_I remember we used to laugh_  
_About nothing at all, it was better than going mad_  
_From trying to solve all the problems_  
_We're going through, forget 'em all_  
'_Cause on those nights we would stand and never fall_  
_Together we faced it all, remember when we'd_

"Hey, Pony?" Johnny was flopped on the floor of the decrepit old church, doing nothing in particular. Well, he was staring up at the rafters and just thinking. Being on the run from the fuzz and hiding out in an old church in the country really limited a guy's options of how to spend his day.

"Yeah?" Ponyboy was busy sorting through the card deck, counting the cards. He could have sworn just this morning they had a full deck, now they were down to fifty. Where in the world were the other two?

Johnny huffed. "Have you ever thought how hard it is to be in hiding like this? Before all this happened with the Socs I mean."

Pony looked at his friend curiously. "Can't say that I have."

He hummed in thought. "It's just that, you know, with us being who we are; we've never had to deal with something like this. Dally, Steve, n' Two-Bit have gotten their fair share alright, but us, we've stayed out of trouble."

"What are you trying to get at, Johnny?"

He shrugged. "We always thought we had it hard, and I guess we do, but going through this, it kind of makes you realize that there's a lot worse, ya know?"

Ponyboy tapped the deck of cards on his leg in thought. "But there's only so much one person can handle, right? I mean, I bet you those people don't go through half of the stuff we do."

"I dunno, Pony, I mean, looking at us, it's certainly possible."

"Aw, why are we talking about this, Johnny?"

He shrugged again. "So how's bologna doing for ya?"

Ponyboy started snickering, which eventually turned out into a full blown laugh. "I'm not sure. I could do with a change from eating it three meals a day."

Johnny grinned. "I'll see what I can do." He turned over onto his stomach and started writing a note to himself in the dust and dirt. "Find…bologna…substitute…" he said as he wrote. The whole effect was ruined though, when he asked, "Umm…what would possibly keep though?"

"Hey, Johnny?"

"Mhm?"

"Guess I'm bringing the subject up again, but what happens now?" He started shuffling the deck, for a lack of better things to do. "I wonder if we'd get to go back to the lot…or anywhere else for that matter."

Johnny nodded his head up and down. "At least we'd be able to remember it."

_Stay up late and we'd talk all night_  
_In a dark room lit by the TV light_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

_We'd listen to the radio play all night_  
_Didn't wanna go home to another fight_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

**Johnny ran. He was sporting a new bruise on his face and was stumbling in the general direction of the vacant lot. As he ran, he furiously tried to push the sounds of his parents fighting from his mind. The yelling…the screaming…it was becoming too much for him to handle. Sometimes he figured he'd be better off dead. Least then he'd finally be at peace. He eventually tripped over a stray bottle on the ground and didn't bother to get back up. What was the point?**

"**Johnny?"**

**He didn't want to turn his head, but did anyways. "Pony? What're you doin' here, Pony?"**

**Ponyboy shrugged and looked up into the starry sky.**

**Johnny forced himself to sit up. "It's awful late; Darry'll have a field day."**

**Pony looked back down at Johnny with his eyebrows raised. "He knows where I am."**

**Johnny didn't push. From what it sounded like, they'd probably had another fight.**

**Being the talkative people they were, they were soon sitting in a silence, just gazing up at the little bright lights. The wind decided to pick on them and blow through the lot, picking up random pieces of litter as it went.**

"**Ain't you cold, Johnny?" The teen had been in such a hurry to escape his house, he'd forgotten his jacket.**

"**I'm alright."**

"**Were your folks–"**

**Johnny rubbed his arms, despite him saying he wasn't cold. "Yeah."**

**Pony nodded slightly. "You know you're always welcome."**

**Johnny returned the nod.**

_I remember when we used to drive_  
_Anywhere but here, as long as we'd forget our lives_  
_We were so young and confused_  
_That we didn't know to laugh or cry_  
_Those nights were ours; they will live and never die_  
_Together we'd stand forever, remember when we'd_

"Oh, and that one time Two-Bit took Darry's car for a ride with Soda," Johnny started.

Ponyboy grinned. "Mhm. He somehow dragged us along with him too. Darry exploded when we got back."

Johnny started laughing despite the circumstances. Between gasps for breath, he asked, "Why…am I…laughing?"

Pony shrugged, quite caught in a fit himself. "When he was yelling Soda and Two-Bit paid no attention at all?"

Johnny calmed down. "Haha, yeah, I guess." He sighed, and flopped against the dirt ground like a lifeless doll.

Ponyboy leaned back against the pew and let the cards trickle out of his hand. "What are we gonna do, Johnny?" His voice caught in his throat. "What if we…what if we really can't go back?" He sucked in his breath. How much longer would this last?

"I dunno…" Johnny whispered out. "I don't know…"

"It just hurts to remember…ya know?"

"Yeah…" he breathed out, it was nearly inaudible.

_Stay up late and we'd talk all night_  
_In a dark room lit by the TV light_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

_We'd listen to the radio play all night_  
_Didn't wanna go home to another fight_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

**They were plopped on the dejected abandoned couch, Johnny desperately seeking warmth. Johnny was once again seeking refuge from his home (using the term very lightly) and had left so quickly he had forgotten his jacket. Again.**

**Ponyboy was out there just from the need of getting fresh air. Read: slacking off of homework again. Darry would spontaneously combust once again when he found the abandoned school papers.**

**Pony had gone and told Johnny this, and the teen had just said they were really going to kill poor ol' Darry one day.**

"**I'm sure he can handle it," Ponyboy said.**

**Johnny chuckled. "You ought to lighten up though," he said softly, successfully leeching his friend's warmth. "Take care of yourself once in a while; I bet you the problem to his premature aging is you."**

**Pony raised his eyebrows. "You calling me a problem?"**

"**Naw, I ain't calling ya a problem. Just stating the facts is all."**

"**Riiiiight."**

"**But you really shouldn't worry him like that, Pony. I imagine it's hard on him, just so suddenly, you know? He cares a lot about you two."**

**Ponyboy sighed. "Yeah. So I've been told."**

"**Oh man…I'm sorry Johnny…I didn't…"**

"**It's alright," he whispered.**

_Those nights belong to us_  
_There's nothing wrong with us_  
_Those nights belong to us_

_I remember how we used to laugh_  
_And now I wish those nights would last_

Ponyboy rested his elbows on his knees and hid his hands in his face. He could feel the all too familiar tears start falling from his eyes. "What happened?" he asked softly. "I was finally thinking things were looking up…Why do the Socs gotta mess up everything?"

"I don't know, Pony…" Johnny sighed, heaved himself up from the floor and sat next to his friend. He put a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Everything's going downhill for us…just everything. Just watch. Next we'll be dropping dead one by one."

"Don't say that," Johnny whispered rubbing Pony's arm consolingly.

"What else is there left?"

"Let's just lie low like Dally said, and hope for the best."

"Aw, why do you have to be an optimist?"

"Funny. I always saw myself as a realist."

"Huh. I guess it really doesn't matter in the end," Ponyboy mused. "What happens, happens."

Johnny nodded. "We get back, we get back. We don't, well."

_Stay up late and we'd talk all night_  
_In a dark room lit by the TV light_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

_We'd listen to the radio play all night_  
_Didn't wanna go home to another fight_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

**Ponyboy grinned. "You remembered your jacket this time."**

"**Yeah. Learned my lesson first couple of times around."**

**They silently stared up at the stars, lost in their own little worlds. Sometimes they would play connect-the-dots with stars, to see what else they could come up with, but not tonight. Tonight was one of silence.**

**They stiffened as wheels crunching gravel was heard and the light of headlights could be seen. The truck passed by without even slowing, and they both relaxed.**

**Ponyboy yawned…then he realized. "Oh man, it's really late, isn't it? Darry's going to kill me…" He frantically stood up, starting to rush back home.**

"**Hey, Johnny, you wanna come?"**

**The older boy looked up, weighing his options. He nodded and followed his friend.**

_Stay up late and we'd talk all night_  
_In a dark room lit by the TV light_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

_We'd listen to the radio play all night_  
_Didn't wanna go home to another fight_  
_Through all the hard times in my life_  
_Those nights kept me alive_

Ponyboy sighed, and started retrieving the fallen cards, counting them as he went. Once he finished he came up with the full fifty-two. Odd.

Out of sheer boredom, he started sorting the cards by suit and number. Ace of spades…two of spades…oh, the ace of hearts…

The sound of crickets chirping and a shrill call of an owl pierced through their silence. It was weird, living like this, but slowly, they were accepting it, bleached hair and all.

Strangely, Ponyboy found himself thinking that out of all the people he knew, he wouldn't want to be stuck in something like this with anyone but Johnny. Sodapop was great, and Pony loved him to death, but, he guessed, Johnny understood him just a little bit more.

"Ponyboy."

"Yeah?"

"It may sound weird and all, but I can't help myself."

Johnny stared at the youngest Curtis child who just so happened to be his best friend.

"No matter what happens from here on, I'm glad about all those nights in the lot."

Ponyboy smiled sadly. "Yeah…"

_Those nights belong to us_  
_There's nothing wrong…_

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**A/N: Okay, there's bound to be some major OOCness in there…Pretty sure I got their speech wrong too…and I'm sorry. Really sorry. If I shall be banished from the world of The Outsiders forever from here on out, I'll go happily. I'm just glad to finally get this out. Now I gotta go to sleep before my mom yells at me.**  
**Reviews please?**  
**--NarutoKyuu**

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